Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates novel Chapter 346

Chapter 346: 346-I Was A Fool Back Then

Helanie:

"That’s the Alpha?" he asked, looking completely shocked.

"Yeah, the one who left me," I repeated. I guess I hadn’t focused much on Altan when telling Lamar about the incident before. I had only briefly mentioned him.

"That’s... crazy. He was in love with you? I mean, you two were dating back then?" Lamar was sitting on the bed with me, forcing me to eat the burger he had brought for me.

"Helanie, I don’t know if I should tell you this or not, but I have some information on him—from before I even knew he was the asshole who left you with those animals that night," he said, looking down, closing his eyes, and taking deep breaths. That worried me.

"Tell me everything you know," I said with confidence, even though I knew the truth would hurt.

"Altan has been lying to you," he paused. "He found his fated mate the day he turned eighteen. They turned eighteen together. But... she was from another pack, so you never got the chance to know much about her. He was very protective of her, so he kept her a secret." He hesitated on the word *protective*.

I couldn’t believe it.

I lost everything for someone who had been playing me?

"But he never told me. He said he would accept me, and—oh my God, I’ve been such a fool," I covered my mouth with my hands, tearing up. He quickly hugged me while I sobbed my heart out like crazy.

"Lamar—he used to be so draining, mentally and emotionally. He kept me hanging with false hopes. Of course, he didn’t stay to fight for me. Of course, he didn’t protect me—he chose his reputation over mine. He didn’t want anyone to find out. He didn’t want his mate to know he had been with me, so he would rather let me die there. Yeah!" I nodded, letting out a bitter laugh at how stupid I had been.

"Hey, he’s an asshole. It’s his loss—he lost a gem like you," Lamar patted my back. After a while, I broke the hug and wiped my cheeks with the back of my hand.

"Tell me more," I needed to know. All this time, I thought he got cold feet, but now I finally understood why.

He didn’t want to protect me—he was already protecting his mate.

I was just his side chick.

He never really cared about me.

"You know he’s engaged?" Lamar asked, holding my hands tightly, trying to comfort me.

The question itself was heartbreaking.

He moved on without any guilt.

It confused me because, even if he never truly loved me, we had been friends since childhood. Did our friendship mean nothing to him at all?

"Who?" I asked in a whisper, barely able to say the word.